Thursday, June 17, 2021

Thursday Movie Picks: Natural Disasters

 

For the 24th week of 2021 as part of Wandering Through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks. We go into the subjects of natural disasters where they’re often quite popular as it has people freaking out over something happening around them whether it’s an earthquake, a hurricane, or something awful on Earth. Here are my three picks:

1. Volcano
Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Heche, and Gaby Hoffman, this was one of those typical films that came out in the 1990s as it was one of 2 films that was about volcanos that came out in the same year. This was an OK effort with Jones being a fireman and Heche as some earthquake expert as it had a few decent moments in which Los Angeles is being destroyed by a volcano though it is largely forgettable.

2. The Day After Tomorrow
Roland Emmerich’s 2004 global-warming film about half of the world being frozen by a new ice age as it was a film that also had its moments. It largely revolves around Dennis Quaid as a scientist where he and a couple of men try to go to New York City from another location to retrieve Jake Gyllenhaal as Quaid’s son. While the film does try to at least acknowledge the issue of global warming, it does feel like it gets dumbed down to the masses.

3. San Andreas
This was kind of dumb as it’s just another action film starring Dwayne Johnson as a helicopter rescuer who tries to save Alexandra Daddario, who plays his daughter, during an earthquake ravaging California. It’s a film that is insane that includes Carla Gugino as Johnson’s ex-wife who joins Johnson in the adventure where there are some scary moments but also some weird moments includes the famed Australian pop star Kylie Minogue as Gugino’s boyfriend’s bitchy sister doing a massive-budget fall similar to what she did in a much superior film that is Leos Carax’s Holy Motors.

© thevoid99 2021

7 comments:

Cinematic Delights said...

Nice picks. I haven't seen Volcano but I have seen Dante's Peak. I think the first time I watched it was at school in a geography class!
I agree with your point about The Day After Tomorrow feeling dumbed down. I'm not really a fan of Quaid so I haven't seen it that many times.
I haven't seen San Andreas... kinda tempted now I know Kylie is in it!

Sonia Cerca said...

I've only seen The Day After Tomorrow and I remember enjoying it. I'm the only one in my family who hasn't watched San Andreas and I have no intention to fix that.

Katy said...

Nice picks! Volcano is fun because I didn't take it seriously. The set pieces are cool, even if the plot is silly. The Day After Tomorrow is all right too. It's tough to take the message of global warming seriously with Quaid in the lead role and all of the special effects. It just comes across as another action movie. Haven't seen San Andreas though.

ThePunkTheory said...

We match with The Day After Tomorrow - I can't seem to recall anything about that movie except for Jake Gyllenhaal being in it. 😅

Brittani Burnham said...

San Andreas was dumb, but I still stand by the most unrealistic part of that movie being that someone would divorce The Rock for a generic asshole business man like his ex did. lol

Birgit said...

Dumb...dumber...dumbest....interchangeable but all are enjoyable in a stupid way. Actually that volcano movie is not that great especially the very fake cgi, the other Volcano flick with Pierce Brosnan is also kinda dumb but it’s better and somehow has some science behind it. The Day After Tomorrow is the winner this week and it’s just so stupid but so fun to watch and pick apart. I mean how does Dennis get his deadweight friend through to a place that act7ally has a stove , light it and keep it so warm in the span of 10 seconds before becoming a quaidsicle?? The last flick is another dumber but you have to love The Rock. I wonder how many times the Golden Gate Bridge has been destroyed in disaster flicks?

Often Off Topic said...

I've seen your second and third picks and really enjoyed both. They're not too serious and definitely a bit dumb, but enjoyable to watch again!